Unofficial news and tips about Google

December 4, 2009

Google DNS

Google launched a DNS resolving service called Google Public DNS that uses Google's infrastructure to improve page loading time. A DNS resolver converts domain names into IP addresses and this process might slow down browsing.

"As the web continues to grow, greater load is placed on existing DNS infrastructure. Since Google's search engine already crawls the web on a daily basis and in the process resolves and caches DNS information, we wanted to leverage our technology to experiment with new ways of addressing some of the existing DNS challenges around performance and security."

An important problem is that DNS resolvers can track all the web pages sites you visit and build a profile of your interests. Google's privacy page says that the full IP addresses are deleted within 48 hours and Google does not permanently store personally identifiable information. "We built Google Public DNS to make the web faster and to retain as little information about usage as we could, while still being able to detect and fix problems."

OpenDNS, a popular third-party DNS resolving service, offers more feature than Google Public DNS: web content filtering, stats, typo correction, shortcuts, but they're available if you create an account and enter personal information like your name and address. When you type an invalid URL, OpenDNS redirects you to its own search engine to show suggestions and ads. Other free DNS resolution services: Comodo Secure DNS, OpenNIC, DNS Advantage.

You can test all the services and decide which one works best for you by using GRC's Domain Name Speed Benchmark. Don't forget to add Google's memorable IPs: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.

That "typo correction" on OpenDNS *breaks* DNS by giving an apparently-valid answer when you look up nonexistent domain. There was a big uproar when Verisign did that some years ago, and I'm not happy when anyone else does it either. I'm really glad that Google isn't going down that path.

My problem with OpenDNS was the ads hijacking. It was very annoying beeing redirected to their stupid self-serving page every type you typo. I closed my account the minute I saw Google's offer. Also, I trust Google more then a company that I don't really know much about.

Base on all the benchmarks I've seen, the difference between Google Public DNS and OpenDNS is negligible. At max a 5% difference in speed, with a huge sacrifice of features that come with OpenDNS. I imagine Google will eventually release similar filtering tools that OpenDNS offers, but until then I am sticking with my current OpenDNS setup.

Either way, I think it is a rather smart move for Google to offer this service. Fits right in with the rest of their business model, and down the road they easily could show ads similar to OpenDNS on non-existant domains. A lot of people seem to have problem with this "domain hijacking", but I think it's a perfectly valid way to support your service. OpenDNS is free; the only way they make their money is on ads on those search pages. I am happy to have them show me ads, because I just ignore them anyways.

I tried Google Public DNS and its fastMy report shows almost 50% less latency but when I changed name server for one of domainit took time to reflect that changes on my local PC and as soon as I changed it to Open DNS I can see name server change

For Australians looking to circumvent Conroy's evil censorship scheme, setting your DNS server to Google DNS at the router is a good quick and dirty way to circumvent it. Telstra users note that Telstra plans to block Google DNS to prevent this, but AFAIK most other ISPs aren't. Consider changing ISP if you're on Telstra BigPond.

Google DNS was MUCH SLOWER, very noticeably so. Switched back to OpenDNS and noticed an immediate improvement.

I then confirmed this with Domain Name Speed Benchmark test, with the link shown above. It showed OpenDNS to be the best of the 150 choices available to me, with Google DNS a mediocre middle-of-the-pack performer.